Assembly Blocks NY HEAT
Renewable Heat NowThis Earth Month, NY Legislative Leadership Fails to Meet the Moment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2024
Contacts:
Charlie Heller | [email protected] | (609) 933-6774
Brynn Fuller-Becker | [email protected] | (914) 294-4372
Our Movement's Response to the FY 2025 New York State Budget
Albany, NY–After months of negotiations, a handful of Assemblymembers have blocked the NY HEAT Act from inclusion in this year’s state budget. This puts them at odds with the State Senate, the majority of the State Assembly, and the vast majority of New Yorkers, who will once again be denied the utility bill relief and climate protections we demand and deserve.
Despite this support, which also includes the backing of key NY HEAT pillars from Governor Hochul, the decision by the Assembly to side with corporate gas utilities like National Fuel Gas ultimately prevented the bill from inclusion in this year’s budget. National Fuel Gas, the sole gas-only utility in New York, has led a major media misinformation campaign of climate denial while giving thousands of dollars to Western New York Assemblymembers to protect its business interests and override the will of New Yorkers.
"By continuing to block the NY HEAT Act, the Assembly condemned New Yorkers to higher energy bills and the worsening impacts of climate destruction caused by fracked gas. Instead of looking out for everyday people struggling to get by, the so-called People's House protected the bottom line for fracking companies like National Fuel Gas. This failure of leadership will harm our household budgets and perpetuate the climate crisis as we head toward another hot, expensive summer,” said Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE).
The NY HEAT Act is an energy affordability bill. As New York transitions its buildings off of fossil fuel heating, the NY HEAT Act ensures that the transition is managed, phased, and equitable. It ends laws subsidizing the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, caps utility bills at 6% of a household’s income, and empowers regulators and utilities to pursue neighborhood-scale solutions like thermal energy networks and heat pumps.
The cost of maintaining New York’s aging gas system drives up energy bills for consumers with no end in sight. According to a report from the Building Decarbonization Coalition, replacing one mile of pipe costs up to $6 million, or $60,000 per customer served. Not only would the NY HEAT Act protect consumers from the burden of paying off this massive spending, but it would enable one in four residents who pay more than 6% of their income on utility bills to save an average of $136 per month, according to Win Climate. Instead of providing this much-needed relief, the Assembly saddled millions of New Yorkers with another year of higher bills and less funds to pay for necessities like medications, groceries, and transportation.
Despite this setback, NY HEAT has more momentum than ever, with the full support of the NY State Senate and the support of key pillars from the Governor. The climate justice movement will not stop until New York leadership joins the overwhelming majority of his party and voters to make this vital energy affordability bill law.
"Governor Hochul and the New York State Assembly chose to prioritize corporate profits over the well-being of New Yorkers by failing to include the NY HEAT Act in the state budget. A glaring real-time example is National Grid’s outlandish proposal to increase monthly bills for downstate residents by at least $30 to reinforce its toxic and decrepit gas system that must be retired. We hold Hochul and the Assembly responsible for future utility bill increases and for stalling climate action.” said Kim Fraczek, Director of Sane Energy Project.
“The Assembly blocked passage of the NY HEAT Act in this year’s budget, utterly thwarting our ability to meet the targets of the state’s climate law by recklessly continuing to subsidize and invest in the fracked gas distribution system. After a year plagued with wildfire smoke, floods, and rate hikes, the fact that this critical climate and energy affordability legislation was left out of the budget is a huge failure of leadership. NYCP and our allies will continue to work to ensure New Yorkers get the cleaner heat and lower bills they deserve,” said Lisa Marshall, Director of Organizing and Advocacy at New Yorkers for Clean Power.
“Some conservative Assembly Democrats cravenly prioritized their reelection prospects and campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry over the health, affordability, and well-being of all New Yorkers. They blocked NY HEAT and undermined the implementation of the state’s climate law, citing the gas industry’s false talking points or disingenuous excuses like the complexity of the bill. We will continue to organize, build even more people-power, hold the Assembly accountable for choosing profits over people, and will not rest until the NY HEAT Act becomes law,” said Anshul Gupta, a trained leader of the Climate Reality Project.
“We are deeply disappointed to learn that the NY HEAT Act was not included in this year’s budget, despite it being co-sponsored by the majority of the Assembly and included in the Governor and Senate’s budget proposals. This legislation would have gotten rising utility bills under control for those who need it most, with a bill cap protecting our families' economic well-being. It would have contributed to the clean energy transition while limiting utility bills to 6% of income, helping to ensure that struggling New Yorkers can afford to stay warm and keep the lights on. We will continue to press for this critical legislation post-budget and will keep doing so until it is passed,” said Adam Flint, Director of Clean Energy Programs at the Network for A Sustainable Tomorrow.
“We are profoundly disappointed and surprised that the Assembly, and even Governor Hochul, (who we expected to be a staunch ally) blocked NY HEAT from this year’s budget. As mothers and caregivers, we understand that fighting for a safe, sustainable environment is also a fight for climate justice—a battle to ensure every child inherits a just and equitable world. It’s disheartening to see such critical legislation pushed aside by a mother herself, a clear neglect of our duty to protect not just our children, but every family facing the disproportionate impacts of climate change," said Bella Cockerell, NY State Manager of Mothers Out Front.
“How will we move our economy, citizens' health, and New York's environment forward with the Assembly's backward thinking? Where is the fairness behind giving utilities an advantage called ‘obligation to serve’? Where is the concern for affordability when better alternatives exist that would lower customers' bills? How can Assembly members claim concern for constituents' health when there's evidence that electrification using geothermal heat pumps eliminates unhealthy emissions inside and outside the home or business? Thanks to the Senate for moving us forward not backward,” said Christine Hoffer, Executive Director of The New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO).
"It’s incredible that during an era of climate catastrophe and ever-rising utility costs that New York State leaders passed a state budget that entirely ignores both issues. Right now, as extreme heat, pollution, and climate disasters sicken and kill New Yorkers, as untenably high utility bills drain our wallets, and as fossil fuel profits bloat and working people struggle to meet their basic needs, Governor Hochul and the State Assembly chose to bury their heads in the sand. Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and members of the New York State Assembly: It's time to put the people first. Pass the NY HEAT Act before the session to lead the way toward the cleaner, healthier New York State we deserve," said NY Renews Executive Director Stephan Edel.
"New York's Assembly leadership has pulled the rug out from under New Yorkers by removing the NY HEAT Act from the final budget. Many New Yorkers will be stuck with higher utility bills to expand polluting pipelines. We are disappointed that Governor Hochul failed to deliver a key piece of her Executive Budget. With the Senate already passing the standalone bill, Speaker Heastie must listen to his conference and pass the NY HEAT Act this session. By pushing needed climate action later and later, Speaker Heastie is placing the worsening impacts of the climate crisis squarely on the backs of today's youth and environmental justice communities," said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG Program Director.
“When New Yorkers are saying their biggest concern is their cost of living, the Assembly caved to fossil fuel interests instead of supporting the NY HEAT Act, which would have initiated a much-needed implementation plan to ensure a cleaner and safer future away from gas, while saving New Yorkers hundreds off their energy bills annually. Following 2023, the hottest year in recorded history, where New Yorkers faced dangerous air quality and smoky skies, flooding so extreme that people were stranded, extreme heat, and increasing utility bills, the Assembly owes it to New Yorkers to come to the table before the end of the 2024 legislative session and pass the NY HEAT Act,” said Liz Moran, New York Policy Advocate for Earthjustice.
“Year after year, Speaker Heastie has stood as a roadblock to real climate action in New York. His refusal to seriously engage on climate in the budget negotiations is a direct attack on young people inheriting a burning planet, poor folks struggling with high energy bills, and the majority of the Speaker’s own Assembly delegation who cosponsor and are fighting for the NY HEAT Act in the budget. Speaker Heastie must come to the table, Senate Majority Leader Stewart Cousins and Governor Hochul must stand strong and pass the full NY HEAT Act in the state budget,” said Laura Shindell, New York Senior Organizer at Food & Water Watch.
"Ratepayers and communities lose when our leaders fail to follow through on the promises of New York State’s climate law at the request of the businesses they are charged with regulating. The vital legal provisions of the NY HEAT Act must be passed to protect those of us who pay utility bills and to fully embrace a healthier climate," said Carol Chock, President of Ratepayer and Community Intervenors.
Because of failed leadership from Governor Hochul and Assembly Speaker Heastie, New York is at a precipice. While serious environmental, community, health, housing, climate justice groups and others have worked tirelessly through a five-year process to finally begin a managed transition to clean energy, New York State leadership punted on extremely popular climate action. This failure to act on thoughtful initiatives like the NY HEAT Act increases risks, costs, and confusion for New Yorkers, and compounds the difficulty of that managed transition. Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie must take the first steps out of the climate crisis with the NY HEAT Act now, and stop passing the consequences for their failure to act on to future generations,” said George Povall, Executive Director of All Our Energy.
“The Assembly has denied the people of New York affordable and reliable home heating in favor of continuing to force the cost of an inefficient and harmful gas infrastructure onto New Yorkers. By failing to pass this legislation and cap energy bills for New Yorkers, the Assembly has missed a crucial opportunity to put money back into the pockets of those who need it most,” said Michael Hernandez, Rewiring America’s New York Policy Director.
We were heartened to see support for the NY HEAT Act on behalf of the entire Rochester delegation but dismayed to see the lack of leadership from some of their colleagues in the Assembly. RG&E/NYSEG recently imposed double-digit rate increases, with little to no climate provisions in their latest rate case, demonstrating the need for systemic, state-wide policy solutions to address the dual crises of climate change and spiraling energy burdens. We need clear leadership from our elected officials to ensure an equitable and inclusive transition to clean energy. The NY HEAT Act is one of the most pragmatic and meaningful ways of doing so,” said Kristen Van Hooreweghe, Senior Director of Programs for the Climate Solutions Accelerator.
“For years, Brooklyn residents have fought harmful, costly, and unnecessary fossil fuel projects like National Grid’s liquefied natural gas vaporizers in Greenpoint. Our utility bills keep going up because of wasteful spending on these projects. Since we don’t have a choice in our utilities, we rely on our elected representatives to hold the utilities accountable. The Assembly has once again abdicated that responsibility by refusing to include NY HEAT in the budget this year. But the Assembly has a chance to redeem itself. It can pass NY HEAT as a standalone bill before the session is over in June,” said Delia Kulukundis, an Organizer at 350Brooklyn.
“The climate crisis is only made worse by New York’s democracy crisis. The failure to pass the universally popular and desperately needed NY HEAT ACT in the NYS budget demonstrates the control that fossil fuel interests have over Assembly leadership and the scant climate policy allowed to move through that house. New York cannot make the transition to healthy, cost-effective, and emissions-free buildings if we continue to facilitate and subsidize new fracked gas infrastructure over efficient heat pumps and thermal energy networks. Study after study has shown us that when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, inaction is always the most expensive option. The 2024 legislative session cannot end without the Assembly agreeing to end long-standing fossil fuel entitlements - while ushering in a new era of innovation, affordability, and climate equity in the building sector,” said Roger Downs, Conservation Director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter.
“We are frustrated by the lack of leadership shown in the state Assembly and their omission of any meaningful climate action in this year's budget,” said Annie Carforo, Climate Justice Campaigns Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “The Assembly's refusal to include NY HEAT in the budget proves that the body once again held the financial interests of fossil fuel companies in higher regard than the people who call this state home."
“Not including the NY HEAT Act in the budget was a failure of leadership, plain and simple,” said Andrew Foster of Third Act Upstate New York. “We, the people, want clean energy, not business-as-usual burning of dirty fossil fuels. It is ridiculous that already burdened New York ratepayers are being forced to pay for expansion of privately owned gas systems. Third Act Upstate calls on all branches of our government, especially the Assembly, to enact the NY HEAT Act this session as a standalone bill.”
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